Westbrook Brewing – A Brewery In the Making

You’ve never heard of Westbrook Brewing from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. That’s likely because it is still a twinkle in Ed Westbrook’s eye. However, soon enough you will hear more about it.
In the fall of 2010, Westbrook Brewing will become the sixth distributing brewery in South Carolina. Like many commercial brewers before him, Ed is [...]

Charleston Brewvival – A Festival For the True Beer Geek

Last weekend I attended the first ever Brewvival Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. I’m still a relative novice when it comes to beer festivals, having only been to a handful, but this one was truly geared toward the beer geek.

Beer under the Big Top

The festival was organized by the Charleston Beer Exchange and Coast Brewing [...]

Stone Old Guardian Vertical Tasting

Greg Koch, miracle worker. He can
turn grain into beer and levitate.

This is a special week for craft beer in South Carolina. Greg Koch from Stone Brewing Company left his refuge in Southern California to come out to abnormally chilly South Carolina for a whirlwind tour, culminating with the Brewvival Festival in Charleston on Saturday.
We don’t [...]

Beer Can Chicken: Poultry of the Gods

I believe this sums it up.

I’m not a huge fan of chicken. In comparison with beef and fish, I find it bland and often dry. (Maybe that’s why it sells so well…) However, last summer I discovered the wonders of the Beer Can Chicken, and I now have a new appreciation for that mindless little [...]

Acquiring a Taste For Beer (or anything, for that matter)

If you were anything like me, you didn’t always like beer. The first few times I tried beer, I was repulsed. Granted, it was probably a Bud Light or Olde English 800, so that might explain it. However, I can say the same thing about coffee, asparagus and The Beatles.
How is it that things we [...]

Seasonal Beers Pull On Your Heart Strings

In the most recent issue of Beer Advocate Magazine, Andy Crouch wrote an article titled “Drinking Imperial Stout in Summer.” Andy’s point was that with today’s readily available ingredients and refrigeration, there really is no need for seasonal beers. If you want a marzen in June, you should be able to have one. Why are [...]

Winter Warmer Festival: Asheville Beer + Big Taster Glasses = Fun Times

The first thing that went through my mind when I entered the Haywood Park Ballroom on Saturday, “Man, those are big taster glasses.” I immediately knew the Winter Warmer Festival was going to be a slightly different experience than what I had at the World Beer Festival the weekend before in Columbia.
After being handed an [...]

World Beer Fest – Columbia Makes Craft Beer More Accessible to the Masses

As I mentioned in a HopPress post a few weeks ago, I grew up in Columbia, having lived there from 1986 to 2007, with a couple years away at the College of Charleston in the middle. To say the least, Columbia has never been known as much of a beer town.
The only surviving brewery is [...]

How To Put the Coffee In a Coffee Stout

Coffee stouts are one of my favorite styles of beer. As far as “flavored” styles of beer, it’s a natural fit. When barley is highly kilned, it produces very similar roasted flavors and aroma as coffee beans.
Stouts often use these dark grains, such as roasted barley, black patent and chocolate malt. Therefore, even in non-coffee-flavored [...]

RJ Rockers’ New Brewery Shows South Carolina What It’s Been Missing

2009 was a banner year for RJ Rockers in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They won two major awards, including a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival, and moved into their new brewery in downtown Spartanburg. I stopped in before Christmas to see the place and talk with the brewmaster and co-owner, Mark Johnsen.

The front [...]